This could well get me a bashing from the Slimming World cheerleaders, but what the hell…

Quite some time ago I wrote a post on Facebook about Slimming World and the mashed banana debacle.

Well, a few Slimming World ladies recently jumped on this post and gave it a bashing (even though it’s nearly 3 years old). But…

I still stand by what I wrote.

Here’s the dealio…

A mashed banana will set you back 5 syns for your troubles.

Anyone who has followed Slimming World will recognize the “syn” system.

My beef with this system is the fact that sweets such as Flumps (a marshmellow thingy) which are full of shoddyness and refined sugars are 1.5 syns, where as a mashed banana is 5 syns…

Although if you don’t mash it, it becomes syn free.

Weird, right?

You surely have to mash a banana slightly in your mouth, I think it’s called chewing?! I digress…

The Slimming World folk say that when you mash fruit, it releases more of the sugars and you’re likely to eat more of the fruit because it’s easier to shovel it down down your throat.

I might be wrong, but I don’t think the people that have joined Slimming World are overweight because they’ve been eating too much mashed fruit.

Even Space Invaders (aka crisps/potato chips) get less syns than the humble mashed banana. And…

In my opinion, it’s always better to eat fruit (mashed or not) over Flumps and Space Invaders.

That’s common sense, surely?

The thing is that it’s not just sugar (from mashed fruit or other sources) you’ve gotta be careful with…

All those random wacky ingredients can cause just as much trouble, like the ones that go in Flumps, Space Invaders or ready made meals made by certain diet companies (not mentioning any names).

They can especially cause trouble with your hormones, digestive system and blood chemistry…

Mess up your hormonal mojo and you’re in for a tough time losing the old belly fat, even if you cut the calories (or syns).

Anyway, here’s my advice that could well be added to the Slimming World manual…

Reduce your sugar intake AND the amount of wacky ingredients you let in your bod.

This will go along to keeping you fit and healthy for years to come.

Syns work for some peeps, but don’t abandon common sense blindly like those people who follow their Sat-Nav instructions into a river.

I mean, flumps over mashed banana…really?!

What’s the world coming to?! ;-)

Ta-ta,

Coach Gavin

P.S. An avocado will set you back 8 syns…

It’s little things like this that tell me Slimming World need to update their syn system, which I’m sure they could do, right?!

 


Gavin Walsh
Gavin Walsh

A British fitness and fat loss magician that helps men and women lose the jelly from their belly pronto. Gavin is the head coach here at Body Fixers and has been featured in the likes of Men's Health, Women's Health and Men's Fitness, as well appearing on British TV several times with delightful nuggets of fitness and fat loss wisdom.

    14 replies to "Mashed Banana"

    • Kelly

      I have to agree with you on your post I’m just coming to an end of slimmkng world for 3 months in that time Iv lost around 7lbs. Which isn’t great. My third child is 7 months and just stopped breastfeeding so I’m trying to be kind to myself. I love advocados and refused to syn them. All slimming world members advise to stay on plan be strict and be patient! Iv had some terrible anxiety lately and this appears to have triggered a lot of digestive problems. So Iv completely ditched sugar free drink in exchange for water: eating mainly fruits veg fish grains pulses etc and started yoga so I can hopefully get my body and mind to be calm and healthier and time to recover. And hopefully soon I’ll start to see and feel the benefits.

      • Gavin Walsh

        Hiya Kelly – congrats on your third child and losing 7 pounds over the last 3 months. Great job! Anxiety can be a right pain in the assimus, but sounds like you’re doing all the right things to fix it :)

    • Kunew

      I’ve done Slimming World about eight times over the years. I lose 5/6 pounds the first week abd then the struggle starts. I’ve never made it to losing as much as a stone. I kept it going for a whole year and just didn’t lose. I’d love to know why it just won’t work for me. ☹☹

    • D

      What I don’t get is how they change things like beans and peas used to be speed foods and now they aren’t they are just free… ?

    • Laura

      Gavin you speak the truth. Keep it high fibre and natural. I teach kids nutrition in school so I know all about the sugar and chocolate obsession we have. It’s as though we’ve been brainwashed by advertising.

    • Karen Doney

      So I like science & evidence based information. The syn system has raised my ‘oooooph really?!’. I could only figure that mash banana may be ripper & therefore contain altered sugars. Similarly boiled, baked, mashed fruits generally. Some processes may alter the nutritional value, but rarely & biologically the fruit remains ‘intact’. I get the not over consuming of any foods but as fruit is free syn value I was led to believe you could eat as many as I’d lack. Common nutritional & scientific sense tells me all things in moderation & any chemicals (e numbers & processed foods) can be given a miss. I was brought up by herbally-natural-foods-neo-hippy parents so only had home made naturally occuring stuff on a mostly veg & fish diet. I know I’ve got lots to learn, & lots of querries too! ????

    • pat cooper

      Thank you for your words about mashed banana .I had just found banana pancakes and rather indulged in them _ then saw a post about mashing bananas = 5 syns .But as you say they are healthier than gums and choc bars –so will still be eating them _ and following you more x

    • Catherine

      Yes!!

      I agree with this 1000%. I work with women helping them to lose weight and I would be a lot of money on the fact that mashed bananas is NOT the cause of weight gain for any of them. It’s ridiculous advice and I love this blog post, so much sensible advice.

    • INGRID

      I am still a member of SW and for the 1st year it worked well for me, I lost just over 3 stone. I was not a person who lived on junk food before joining so lost the weight with a few tweaks to how I cooked and shopped, but while I understand the plan very well, I don’t follow the ‘unlimited rice, pasta, potatoes’ free food idea. Those carbs put weight on me so I do limit those. The banana thing remains a mystery to me! My dad was a diabetic so I know he wasn’t allowed mashed banana either because of the increased sugar, but I cannot understand why mashing it with a fork is any different to mashing it in your mouth with your teeth?

    • Dainin

      My brother is diabetic and not allowed bananas because “they contain the equivalent of 6 teaspoons of sugar” (?).
      I personally eat very few because they “repeat on me” but have half a banana sliced on cereal or porridge.
      What I’d like to know is how much the amount of sugar varies with the ripeness of the banana?

    • Angie

      I have lost 5 stone on slimming world and would not change a thing

    • P

      They seem to make no/little mention of ripe (sugary) vs green-ish (starchy) either, and the whole ‘mastication’ deal is ignored. Personally, given the number of people that seem to be SW ‘lifers’, I do rather doubt the efficacy of the ‘syn’ approach, though chewing does fool the brain into thinking you’ve eaten more (hence why I choose unsalted nuts as my go to snack). Cutting out bread lost me 3 stone, some years ago, which has mostly stayed off (though COVID didn’t help as I started to make bread at home!)

      • Gavin Walsh

        Totally get where you’re coming from with the whole banana vs sweets dilemma. It’s a bit of a head-scratcher, isn’t it? 🍌🤔

        Spot on with the ripe vs green banana thing. It’s like, hello? One’s basically a sugar bomb, and the other’s more on the starchy side. But nope, they’re all thrown in the same basket in the syn world.

        And yeah, the power of a good chew! It’s interesting how something as simple as munching on some unsalted nuts can trick your brain into feeling fuller. Smart snacking choice, by the way! 👍

        About the whole ‘syn’ thing – I reckon it’s a bit of a mixed bag. It’s easy to get caught up in the numbers game and lose sight of what’s actually nutritious. Kind of makes you wonder, especially when you see folks stuck in the Slimming World loop for ages.

        Your bread story is a real eye-opener! Ditching the loaf and seeing such a huge change – that’s impressive. And then, along comes COVID, bringing the bread-making craze with it. Can’t blame you though; who doesn’t love a bit of homemade bread?

        You hit the nail on the head – understanding your body’s needs and making smart food choices is key. No one-size-fits-all approach here!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.